Tower Hill's Night Lights 2018 brings inspiration, nostalgia

Saturday

BOYLSTON — Visitors to "Night Lights: Winter Reimagined 2018" at Tower Hill Botanic Garden might want to bring a notebook to jot down ideas for their own holiday displays.

Matt Mattus, vice president of the Board of Trustees, who served as the chief designer of the annual exhibit, said today’s DIY (do it yourself) mindset plays very well with the lighting displays in the garden as well as the interior decorations.

“This is a great place to get ideas,” Mattus, who was a creative director for Hasbro for 30 years, said. “Everything here is achievable at home.”

Night Lights, an annual celebration of winter, light and nature, is Tower Hill’s largest fundraiser, and nearly a quarter of the garden’s annual visitors come through the gates during the five-week event.

For Mattus, who coordinated the display and its 200,000 lights for the first time, Night Lights 2018 is a coming home of sorts.

"When I was a kid, my parents would take me to Horticultural Hall (the previous property used by the Worcester County Horticultural Society, which operates Tower Hill Botanic Gardens)," he said. "In the 1980s, I helped set up their Holly Days, and now I'm more involved as a trustee."

Mattus said there are half a dozen themes the staff used to transform 15 acres of gardens, walkways and building interiors.

“We did a lot of layering of themes,” Mattus said. “There’s a lot of nostalgia – everyone has a personal take on what the holidays means to them.”

The different themes — which include Nordic Nature, Tyrolian Fantasy, and Midnight Clear — each have their own color palette to differentiate them.

Outside, the gardens have been individually arranged to reflect a different aspect of the sky. Mattus said the lawn garden features the colors of the sunset, while the secret garden reflects the cooler colors of snow.

The firefly forest is lit with tiny green lights that flitter about and ends at the Wild Rumpus stick sculpture.

New this year is a long rainbow tunnel of lights. Mattus said the lighted archways were previously very popular, and he simply re-ordered the lights.

"People can experience walking through the colors, when the colors are organized."

When visitors head inside to get warm, they can stop by the library, which has been transformed into Massachusetts author Jan Brett's book "The Mitten," check out the towering tree made out of bromeliad plants and see the train scene which has been expanded from last year.

In addition to the night time experience, Tower Hill is offering a day time experience from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday, with specially planned children's activities including scavenger hunts, discovery backpacks, story times, crafts and concerts on Dec. 1, 8 and 15.

Night Lights 2018 opens on Nov. 23 and runs through Dec. 30. Tickets must be purchased in advance online at https://www.towerhillbg.org/night-lights-2018/ or by calling 866-971-0969. Peak night tickets are $18 for adults, $13 for seniors, $8 for youths (age 6-18) and free for children ages 5 and under. Non-peak nights (Nov. 27 - Dec. 14) are $2 less per ticket.